photo-litho



CHARLES T. FABER, 0F NEW YORK. N. Y.

Lettera Patent ivo. (39,329, dated 01407101' l, 186i'.

IMPROVED SELF-ADJUSTING LID-SUPPORT FOR PIANOS DBSKS, che.

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TO ALL WHOM I'I MAY CONCERN:

Be it linownthat I, CHARLES T. FABER, ot' the city, county, and State otl New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in Self-Adjusting Li .l-Supporters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making apart of' this `spccification. i

The object of my invention is to provide a prop or support to lids or covers of pianos, desks, boxes, the., which will be automatic in its action, so that such lid may be raised and held, or lowered without the necessity of touching said prop or support, as will be hereinafter explained.

In the accompanying drawing, I3 represents a desk with my improved prop or support applied, said prop consisting of a brace made tapering iu the usual or any desircdf'orm, havinfar its larger end attached to the side of the desk or other convenient point by mea-ns ot` a screw-pivot, upon which it is free to turn, as hereinafter explained. To prevent the pivot from workintcr and becoming loose iu soft wood, a perforated metal plate, shown at M, may be inlaid in or otherwise secured to thc surface to which said prop is attached, between the end 'ot' the prop and said surface. In the end of theI prop a slot or incision is formed or cut, wide enough to allow it to receive a. metal hook, and allow it to move freely therein, as shown at l) inthe drawing. A spring of metal or any elastic band, is attached at one end to this hook, and at its other end to thev side oti the piano, desk, or

other article of furniture to which the prop is applied. liy this arrangement it will be seen that when the lid' is raised the elasticity of the spring uctinr upon the prop will cause its free end to rise with and slide along the lid until it reaches a notch formed therein, into which .said free end falls, and being prevented thereby from returning, is made to properly sul'iport the elevated lid. '.lo now enable the lid to be lowered without touching the brace or prop, a small latch or lever, which I call th(l adjuster, made ot' any suitable material, as wood or metal, shown at I J K of thodrawinggiis pivoted in a groove in the lid, at the back or foot. ol` the notch into which the prop falls, in such manner as to swing freely as the lid is raised or lowered.

rllhe operation of this adjuster is as follows: when the lid is raised and the prop l'alls into the notch 1n the. lid, the adjuster hangs suspended from its pivot in a vertical position behind. the prop. The lid is now slightly raised, when the continued backward movement olA the iree end ol' the prop throws the adjuster against the lid until it has passed over it, when the adjuster again drops into a vertical position in front oi' the lever, when, by lowering the lid, thc adjuster is thrown l'orwurd over the notch, and is of suflicient length to form a bridge over said notch, over which thc free end oi' the prop slides as thc downward movement oi' the lid is continued, in a manner that will be readily understood from the drawings. When the prop has passed the notch and the adjuster thus bridging it, the a ljustei".igaiu falls, by its own gravity, into its former vertical position, and is ready for a repetition ot the operation above described. Any desired number of notches and adjusters may be applied to the lid, so that any desired degree of elevation may be given thereto. The adjuster, instead of bein,r pivoted in a groove in the lid, may be applied to a small slotted metal plate let into the lid, or in any suitable manner.

A modification of the above manner ol' applying my improvement is shown at A, representinr a piano to which the prop is attached in such manner as to dispense with the spring above described. In this instance the prop is pivoted at its larger end to the lid, through the medium et' a metal hinge or plate, or in other suitable manner, while the opposite free end, falling by its own gravity, is allowed, as the lid is raised or lowered, to slide on a ledge of wood or metal attached to the side of the piano or desk to which it is applied, as shown at Figures C and l) of the drawing. A notch is formed in the ledge, into which the l'ree end ot' the prop falls as the lid is raised, which prevents the return movement oil tho prop, and causes it to hold the lid in its elevated posi tion. At the rear of the notch iu the ledge the adjuster is pivoted, at or near its lower end, and has its lower end weighted in such manner as to maintain the position shown at Fig. C, and Z, Figure E. When it is desired to lower the lid it is first raised slightly, so as to cause the prop to slide by the adjuster, as shown at C, when the lowering of the lid and the consequent forward movement of the slide throw' the adjuster forward and cause it to bridge the notch in the manner shown at Fig. D, thereby leaving the lid free to be lowered without any necessity for touching the prop. In this construction, as in that before described, any desired number of notches may be formed in the ledge for regulating the degree of adjustment of the lill or cover7 and a corresponding number of adjusters applied thereto.

Having now described the construction and operation of my invention, whnt I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pri-tent, s- I The adjuster for bridging the notch or stop which holds the prop or support for tho lids of pianos, desks, and other similar articles of furniture, made automatic in its action by means substantially as described.

CHAS. T. FABER.

Witnesses:

W. W. UNDERHILL, C. VmTENHEmER. 

